


Harry Potter and the Obstinate Rose

by TheNerdyGayShips



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drarry, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Slightly slow burn, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Summer Vacation, Summer before eighth year, post-war fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:05:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNerdyGayShips/pseuds/TheNerdyGayShips
Summary: The summer before eighth year (and maybe part of eighth year) a certain ex-death eater is sentenced to live with a member of the Order of the Phoenix. This causes a few "accidental" run-ins between two boys who didn't choose their own paths at the fork in the woods, who just now have the chance to undo mistakes of the past.And, you know, maybe end up snogging a bit too.This could really be any length, but it will be long. The first chapter alone is 1000+ words, and it's pretty short.Relationships and characters will be kept canon to the end of Deathly Hallows, excluding the prologue.Poetic and literary references will be present, writing style should be similar to Rowling's but if you squint, my voice is a bit drier and there are definitely some subtle gay jokes.Comment, kudos, subscribe!Btw I should update at least once a week maybe more often, if I don't please remind me to get off of Pinterest in the comments kindly or exasperatedly it's becoming a bit of a problem





	Harry Potter and the Obstinate Rose

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic, pounded his gavel once. He hardly needed to- his presence alone was commanding of respect and silence- but the Wizengamot always did love gossip, and this particular case required some discussion.  
Draco Malfoy was sat in the chair, hands so tight on the armrests that had someone attempted to detach them, he might as well have been held down by the menacing chains and cuffs.  
His jaw was clenched every bit as tight as his hands, and he adamantly did not look at the boy who had just finished testifying for him. Harry Potter glanced away from the blond, annoyed with Malfoy- despite being sympathetic with his side of the case, and with his tense position in the chair, Harry wanted eye contact with Malfoy- for once. Harry himself was sat near Kingsley. Although he had stood to testify, he had not descended the steps. Glancing back at Malfoy- and away from Kingsley, who had turned to whisper to the head of Aurors on his right, forgoing whatever his reason for silencing the court was- Harry noticed the boy's torn robes, dirty face, and unkempt hair. A pang in his stomach confused Harry at first, but he decided it was due to knowing that Malfoy, no matter how much of a prat he was, didn't deserve what the general public believed he did, and that if this went horribly wrong for Malfoy...  
Just as Harry was beginning to contemplate the worst case scenario, Kingsley finished his whispered discussion with the witch next to him and banged his gavel a second and a third time, bringing the courtroom to silence.  
"The first option for Draco Malfoy is to spend two years in Askaban for his crimes. The second option is for Draco Malfoy to go cleared of all crimes, upon the condition that he writes apology letters to all whom his actions have harmed. The third and final option is for Draco Malfoy to go free upon the condition that he lives with a past member of the Order of the Phoenix under house arrest, only leaves the house with at least one member, goes to therapy, and does several hours of community service for both the muggle and wizarding world each week. The house and order members will be decided upon privately."  
Harry decided that the third option was what he would hope for, because it was the most likely option that wouldn't land Malfoy in prison, and it would probably be good for Malfoy, too. Furthermore, forced apology letters did not seem like a good idea.

"All in favor of Draco Malfoy being sentenced to two years in Askaban?" Kingsley demanded of the room.  
Malfoy's pale grey eyes moved away from the wall for the first time since he spoke his piece, darting around the room from face to face, counting the sixteen hands. The two witches who apparently eternally sat in the back of the chamber smiled kindly at Malfoy, having been brought to tears during his and Harry's testimonies. Everybody else, however, was stony-faced and silent. Harry realized that sixteen was exactly a third of the fourty-eight wizards and witches making up the voting assembly, which included everybody excepting himself, Malfoy, and Ernie MacMillan- who was taking copious notes, rather reminiscent of Percy Weasley. However, Harry knew that if the options came to a tie, this case would be lengthened. It would be best for Malfoy to get a more simple sentence now, he believed.  
"All for the second option?" Kingsley thundered, deep voice filling the room.  
Harry heard the scraping of fabric as people raised their arms, quiet but intense. This was nothing like his own trial, which had been over a year earlier and with much lower stakes. Of course, it felt like decades ago and Harry remembered the case seeming so suspenseful at the time. Then, there had been an almost unanimous decision. Now, Harry knew every hand must be counted meticulously.  
Fifteen.  
Perfect.  
Of course, Harry realized exactly what this meant. Malfoy would be living with someone he cared for deeply. This didn't scare Harry- and neither did the prospect of accidentally running into Malfoy- because there was nothing Malfoy could do to anyone. One toe out of line and it would be straight to option one.  
Not that he thought Malfoy would hurt anyone ever again.  
The boy was so haggard and... and dirty. Harry had never seen him look anything like this, even in the rare times in which his blond locks were not slicked back (with what was probably a mixture of sweet-smelling glue and the pure, sacrificed souls of blond virgins), Malfoy was... at least, not this bad. Never this bad. At the manor, during battles, on the quidditch field... never had he looked this bad. Even during that one time, that horrible accident that Harry knew he would never stop regretting, Malfoy's blood and tears weren't like this. They were equally horrible and gut-wrenching, but at least then he wasn't starving, broken, desperate, dirty, and... alone. Or- he was, but in a different way. Emotional instead of literal.  
Whatever the case, Harry knew he would never be able to forget or get used to Malfoy looking like this. He wanted to fix it, to clean him up and feed him and... and, er, maybe give him a hug?  
This, Harry realized, was how everybody else felt about him. This was how Mrs. Weasley felt when she offered him fifth servings of soup, and knitted him a sweater, and made him chocolate fudge and pie and gave him more than she possibly could and still hovered about, concerned for his well-being.  
Malfoy needed a Mrs. Weasley. He needed to be pampered. Harry almost snorted at the thought- Malfoy so malnourished that Harry was considering pampering him. Not that it was funny- it broke Harry's heart for a millionth time that year, knowing the one boy who was more spoiled than Dudley was now at his worst. 

Only after Kingsley's voice had filled the room a third time, seventeen hands had been raised, Malfoy's future decided, and the room began to be emptied, did Harry's muscles finally relax.  
As he stood and began to file out of the room, Harry cast a glance at the recently emptied chair, sitting at the center of the imposing room, eternally forbidding. Malfoy, he knew, was being kept in a cell at the ministry, under better conditions than at Azkaban due to a case earlier that morning. Because Draco's case was the same day, he wouldn't be going back to Azkaban. There weren't dementors, of course, but Azkaban was still not quite a lovely place to live.  
Harry just hoped Malfoy's new order member housemates wouldn't despise him immediately (which was a lot coming from him, he knew, but he was planning on working on that over summer. Who knew? Maybe they could even become friends.)  
Harry exited the Ministry with a positive outlook and a plan to befriend a Slytherin.


End file.
